(HUTCHINSON, Kan.) – Spring Break visitors are invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission at the home of the authentic Apollo 13 spacecraft—the Cosmosphere! The Smithsonian affiliated space museum will offer extended hours until 7 p.m. from March 14 through 22. From a new exhibit detailing the harrowing mission, to hands-on activities for all ages—the Cosmosphere is your place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this mission of survival.
NEW Exhibit: Apollo 13: A Mission of Survival
Restored on-site, the authentic Apollo 13 spacecraft—Odyssey—calls the Cosmosphere home! SpaceWorks, a division of the Cosmosphere specializing in restoration, replication and exhibit design also had a major role in re-creating the mission for Hollywood and the 1995 movie “Apollo 13”— producing more than 80 percent of the movie’s props. From spacesuits worn by Tom Hanks to the replicated Lunar Module, the Cosmosphere’s work can be seen throughout the film. Learn more about the mission and the Cosmosphere’s role in the film in this new exhibit near the Cosmosphere Café, at the top of the museum entrance.
Apollo 13 Special Activities
Take a selfie with Odyssey, find all Apollo 13 artifacts in the Cosmosphere museum, or collect exclusive trading cards (while supplies last) featuring key team members and hardware from the Apollo 13 mission. For a full list of all the fun activities, visit: www.cosmo.org.
Guided Tours
Docent guided tours through the Cosmosphere museum, with special attention given to the Apollo 13 mission and artifacts will be available at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the following Saturdays in March: 14, 21 and 28. Interested participants are asked to meet at the museum entrance stairs. Admission to the Hall of Space is required to participate in guided tours.
NEW CosmoKids Area & X-Plane Gallery Opening
On March 16, two brand new areas in the Cosmosphere museum will open to the public.
The CosmoKids interactive area is designed specifically for the Cosmosphere’s youngest visitors (ages two to six) and will introduce children to STEM (or STEAM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) principles with hands-on learning activities. Children will be able to design and launch a rocket, climb in an “Orion” style space capsule and build a habitat for another world using stacking building blocks.
The redesigned Cosmosphere museum entrance area will feature a brand new X-Plane gallery, where visitors will learn about the program’s important testing and breaking of boundaries which lead to a better understanding of the impact high altitude and high speed flight had on humans and hardware.
The space will also allow the Cosmosphere to display additional artifacts—including a new full-view of the cockpit of the replica Bell X-1 ‘Glamorous Glennis’, a display of Kansas Astronaut Joe Engle’s X-15 flight suit, as well as the XLR99 rocket engine from the X-15 program and introduce visitors to the Space Race story told throughout the Cosmosphere museum.
New Documentary
A new documentary, titled: “Ancient Caves” will open to the public on Friday, March 13. Combining science and adventure, viewers will follow paleo-climatologist, Dr. Gina Moseley, on a journey to unlock the secrets of the Earth’s climate in the most unlikely of places: caves. For show times, call: 620.665.9347 or visit www.cosmo.org.
Coffee @ the Cosmo
On Thurs., March 19, the Cosmosphere will hold the monthly free event, Coffee @ the Cosmo. Nathan Meyer, Cosmosphere VP of Education, will offer an inside look at all the new offering for camp this summer at the Cosmosphere. From new hands-on activities to new team missions in the Astralis simulator—the 35th year of Cosmosphere Camp promises to be epic!
Coffee @ the Cosmo is held each month on the third Thursday from 9 to 10 a.m. and is free and open to the public. Coffee and pastries are provided.
For a full listing of all the fun activities at the Cosmosphere during Spring Break, click here.
